Floating storage-port



Patented Nov. 15, 1921.

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Patented Nov. 15, 1921.

G. K. REIST.

FLOATING STORAGE PORT.

APPLICATION man JAN. 2|, 1920.

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G. K. REIST.

FLOATING STORAGE PORT.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 21, 1920.

1,397,385. Patented N0v 15,1921.

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GEORGE K. REIST, 0F HARRISBURG, PENNSYLVANIA.

FLOATING STORAGE-PORT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 15, 1921.

Application filed January 21, 1920. Serial No. 353,060.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Gnoncn K. Rnrsr, a citizen of the United States,residing at Harrisburg, in the county of Dauphin and State ofPennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvement inFloating Storage-Ports, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to means for storing canoes, motor boats and thelike upon a floating structure which I term a floating storage port.

One of the important city planning and park design problems that ispresented under a wide variety of conditions is the question of housingcanoes and boats and pro- The variety of conditions presented isrepresented fairly well by the following observations that have comeinto my experience.

At Lake Minnetonka, Minnesota, the pressure of the expanding ice duringperiods of extreme cold, is so great as to crowd the ice against theshore to the extent even of forcing up soil ridges along shore inplaces. This condition makes it impracticable to maintain boat-houses,as the structure or its support may be crushed by the ice pressure andmovement. Where such structures do exist, a channel is sawed in the icearound the structure to give protection from ice expansion. Thealternative puts the houses back from shore above ice level, requiringthe pulling off over long run-ways.

In the Susquehanna river at Wilkes- Barre and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania,there are periods of sudden rise that makes a difference in the riverelevation of 20 or 30 feet, or more, and also when the ice is breakingup it sweeps by and piles onto the shore in such a way as. to doinjuryto all but the most substantial structures. The evidence of the power ofthe ice is shown on the up-river side of trees in such rivers by thegreat scars from which the bark has been battered.

Boat-houses on such rivers must be carried so far up on the bank that along and tiresome pull is required to convey boats to and from thewaters edge. Furthermore, in very high water even these houses 1 river,amountingin some instances to or 70 feet, which makes boat-houses nearthe shore quite impracticable.

In the study of the plan for Harrisburg, Pa, this question of providingboat-houses and dressing-rooms for those who would use 1 the river basinfor recreation purposes was one of the difiicult problems. This riverbasin was established a few years ago by the construction of the damacross the Susquehanna, a little below the center of the city.

The conditions in the Susquehanna as stated above, made it impracticableto establish boat-houses or bath-houses along the shore. The existingboat-houses are far up on the bank in order to be above the extremeflood lever, as is indicated on the accompanying illustration. It willbe observed that boats must be carried back and forth to the boat-housefor storage. During the summer platforms must be used for boat landing,these platforms being made necessary by frequent fluctuation in riverlevel, and must be moved to suit height or river.

My present invention has for its object to provide a structure whichshall meet all of the requirements above enumerated and which, whilecapable of being constructed at comparatively small cost has frompractice been found to be most satisfactory and efiicient.

My structure or floating storage port is .so arranged that boats may betaken in from the end or side of the structure and placed on racks, orotherwise supported, and piled two, three, four or more in height.

The device used to hold these ports in place during the fluctuations inwater level, is a heavy rod or pipe that is driven in or anchored at thebottom. and passes through the boat platform so it can move up, and downwithout changing position, as the water levels fluctuate. There are alsoother devices usedin anchoring to safeguard against swift water. Inwinter these ports are anchored where the dressing-rooms can be utilizedby skaters, so they have an allthe-year period of usefulness. In devicesof this character compactness is essential in order that every inch ofspace may be utilized. In order to do this I arrange the. compartmentsand lockers in'parallel rela tion with separate access to each set ofcompartments. V

Other objects and advantages of the invention will hereinafter appearand the novel features thereof will be particularly pointed out in theappended claims.

The invention is capable of embodiment in a variety of forms, dependent,in a great measure, upon the conditions and the requirements, some ofwhich forms, being thosewhich I have found from practicaldemonstration'to be very desirable, being herein shown as illustrationof some of the lengthwise in storage, showing a stairway ways in whichmy invention can be carried out. p

Such forms are clearly illustrated in the accompanying drawings, which,with the numerals of reference marked thereon, form a part of thisspecification, and in which Figure 1 is a side elevation with portionsbroken away and parts in section illustrating one form of my floatingstorage having an upper deck member used for pleasure.

.Fig. 2 is a horizontal section showing the floor plan with lockers andpartitions for the canoes being placed crosswiseeither on the floororhangers or racks. n

r Fig. 3 is'a horizontal section showing another floor plan'withdressing lockers, gangway, with the canoes placed crosswise and asliding platform'to facilitate the taking of the canoes in and out ofthe canoe lockers.

Fig. 4'is a horizontal section showing the floor plan wherein the canoesare placed leading to the upper deck. v

Fig. 5 is an enlarged detail in elevation, showing one of the canoes inposition.

Fig. 6 is a sectional detail to illustrate an other arrangement oflockers.

Like numerals of reference indicate like parts throughout the severalviews.

In carrying out my invention, I employ a fioata-ble dock orsub-structure 1 of any desired shape, preferably, though notnecessarily, substantially rectangular in form, as seen in the variousviews, and of a size dependent upon the required capacity of thefloatable storage port. This sub-structure may-be of any desiredconstruction having a suitable floor 2, and the floor space may besubdivided in a variety of ways varying wiph n Fig.2 I have shownthisspace subdivided with alternating aisles 3 and storage spaces 4 for thecanoes or other boats. In this ent.

spaces 4 between each two aisles may be sub- 7 divided by longitudinallyof the spaces, versely of desired, these spaces may be further dividedby means of partitions 6 extending lengthwise of the device and at rightangles to the partitions 5. 'These partitions may be of anynature-skeleton or latticed or merely rods or bars securely affixed inposi tion by any well-known way.

At one end of each 'aisle'is a door 7 while at the other end of eachaisle are two loclrers 8, each provided with a door 9 whereby access maybe had to the said lockers from the aisles. I

At the ends of the spaces 4 for the canoes are lockers 10 access towhich is had through doors 11 opening into the aisles, one upon eitherside thereof, as seen clearly in Fig. 2.

The floating dock or sub-structure 1 is designed to be secured oranchored in the desired position so as to allow the same to rise andfall with the tide or with the movement of the water occasioned by thewaves. One eflicient way I have found to be to provide the sub-structure1 with guide members or eyes 12, as seen in Fig. 2, through whichlooselypass heavy rods or the like'13, which are designed to be securelyanchored in the bed of the stream, being of suflicient length to permitof the rising of the dock to the required height without danger ofdisplacement of the rods. Fig.- 1 clearly illustrates the manner inwhich the rods are arranged, the rod in this instance, however, beingpassed through an opening in the bottom of the sub-structure,.this beingone of the modified ways in which the rod may be disposed, dependingupon the form of floating storage port, such for instance, as seenin'Fig. 4 wherein'the rods are, as shown in Fig. 1, disposed within theouter or boundary line of the dock or sub-structure and passed looselythrough the openings 14 therein. In

partition or the like 5extending that is transthis form, Fig. 4, thesub-structural is provided with agangway 15 extending entirely aroundthe same and a door 16 is provided at each end of theaisles 17 whichextend lengthwise of the structure, with canoe spaces 18 upon oppositesides of each aisle. These canoe spaces 18 may be divided lengthwise bysuitable partitions or the like 19, and the space between the two aisles17 may be further divided by a longitudinal partition 20, or not, as maybe deemed most expedi- In this form, as well as that shown in Fig. 2,the canoe spaces may be provided with hangers or three or four in heightso as to accommodate the greatest number of canoes or other boats.

the length of the device, and, if

may be arranged in tiers,

Fig. 5 illustrates one form of disposition of the canoes 21 in tiers,and this view also indicates how each canoe space may be provided with adoor 22 having a lock 23 whereby each canoe may be individually inclosedand locked within its space.

In Fig. 3 the sub-structure or dock 1 provided with a gangway 24 allaround the same and at one side with an extension platform or the like25 upon which is supported a guide rail 26 for a sliding platform 27which may be easily moved therealong so that the canoes may be morereadily taken in or out of their spaces. In this form the floor space isdivided into individual canoe spaces 28, each space having a door 29 andat the opposite end of each'space a locker 30, each locker beingprovided with a separate door 31, as shown. hese spaces 28 may bearranged to receive three, four or more canoes.

The dressing lockers of my floating storage port may be variouslyarranged, Fig. 3 showing one form of arrangement wherein the lockers maybe made of varying size, for instance, the lockers 32 are larger thanthe lockers 30, while the lockers 33 are made of still greater capacity.These are given merely as instances of the different arrangements whichmay be resorted to dependent upon the requirements of the apparatususing the same.

Any or all of the different forms of structure as hereinbefore describedmay be of a single deck or each or any of them may be provided with anupper deck. In Fig. 1 I have shown such upper deck 34 mounted upon theroof 35 covering the canoe spaces and aisles referred to and this upperdesk provided with a roof or canopy 36 supported in any suitable way asby the posts or the like 37. This upper deck may be used for pleasure ordancing or any other purpose and may or may not be provided with suitable seats.

If desired, the gangway may be, in a measure, supported by suitablemeans, as shown at 38, and at the ends of the gangway there may beprovided suitable ornaments, as shown at 39, supporting flower-pots orthe like 40 in which may be placed suitable plants to add to theattractiveness of the structure. Suitable stairways a are providedleading to the upper deck.

Various modifications in arrangements of the dressing rooms, etc., maybe resorted to. For instance, if desired, the dressing rooms may bearranged in the center instead of at the ends. The gangways may beportable. The lockers may be disposed otherwise than hereinbeforedescribed and illustrated, for instance, as shown in Fig. 6 the lockersmay be arranged in sets of three instead of two. As seen in said Fig. 6,the center locker 41 is provided with a door 42 whereby access theretomay be had from the gangway or the outer side of the dock orsubstructure 1, while the other two lockers or dressing rooms 43 areprovided with doors 44 at the sides adjacent the doors 45. By thisarrangementthe lockers or compartments 43 may be used for dressing'roomsand the locker 41 may serve as storage for the cars or other accessoriesof the canoe, or accessories of a motor-boat.

A variety of other arrangements and dispositions of the canoe spaces andlockers or ch'essing rooms may be provided.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that l have devised a simple, yetcomplete structure for the purpose specified, with accommodations forbathing or skating, together 7 with provision for the storage of canoesor other boats, and which structure can be movable or stationaryfloating and which can be placed and retained in any desired positionduring the summer or winter months. It will also be evident that whilethe structural embodiments of my invention as herein shown and describedare what I, at the present time, consider preferable, the same issubject to variations and modifications in detail, proportions of parts,arrangement, disposition of the canoe spaces and lockers, withoutdeparting from the spirit of the invention or sacrificing any of itsadvantages. 1, therefore, do not intend to restrict myself as to theparticular construction and arrangement of parts hereinbefore disclosed,but reserve the right to make such changes, variations and modificationsas come properly within the scope of the protection prayed.

What is claimed as new is l. A. floating storage port comprising afloatable substructure, a super-structure thereon, inset from a sideedge of the substructure to provide a gang-way, storage elementsextending from one side of the superstructure to the other and arrangedin parallel relation, and ports in the side of the super-structureadjacent the gang-way affording access to the storage elements.

2. A floating storage port comprising a float-able substructure, and asuper-structure thereon sub-divided to form compactlyarranged storagecompartments in parallel relation and lockers, said sub-structure havinga gang-way for access to said compart ments and lockers.

3. A floating storage port comprising a sub-structure, a super-structurethereon inset from a side edge of the sub-structure to provide agang-way, storage elements extending from one side of thesuper-structure and arranged in parallel relation with ports in the sideof the super-structure adjacent to the gang-way affording access to eachset of storage elements, and anchoring means to lation, saidsubstructure having a gang-Way permit verticalmovement only of the saidto afford separate access to each of the sets floating storage port. ofstorge compartments through ports in 10 4. A floating storage portcomprising a said super-structure, and a canoe-loading 5 floatablesubstructure, a super-structure platform movable along said gang-Way.

thereon sub-divided to form compactly ar- I 'In testimony whereof Iaffix my signature. ranged storage compartments in parallel re- 7'GEORGE K. REIST;

